The Only Constant is the Rain
by KaliTracer
Summary: The story of how Tony and Clint got together...while everyone (cept Natasha) thought they were dead. "Devastated" Prequel. Part One of Miracles Don't Happen Here Series.
1. Chapter 1

A/Ns:

So, I was trying to finish writing Devastated, but there were too many things that you guys wouldn't understand because I hadn't written how they got together. Now hopefully everyone will get it. There will be a third part of this series coming soon-ish.

Beta'd by Viralguardian.

* * *

><p>The last thing Tony remembers, when he wakes up on the dirt ground, is Clint Barton's face, relaxing with sleep as he slumped over in his seat, before everything went hazy. The light from his chest has never been more of a relief, because there is no other light in the...room? Tony can barely make out a little of his surroundings. There's earth and gravel under his hands, when he gets up on his knees. His clothes and arms are covered in a fine layer of dust and sand when he tries to brush himself off. From what he can make out of his surroundings, the walls are jagged rocks, and he's glad he didn't wake up against them.<p>

_Great_, Tony thinks, _I'm in a fucking cave again_. He sits before he can fully stand, an ache in his head making everything feel off.

From the other side of the cave comes a groan to match his feeling.

"Barton?" he asks, tentative to make move until he knows for sure.

"Stark?" the archer asks, then makes a spitting sound. "Ugh, what died in my mouth? God it feels like I licked a beach...oh."

Tony can see him move around as a vague dark outline, but smiles to hear the archer joking around. He lets out a sigh of relief, and winces when pain throbs suddenly in his head.

"Where are we?" Tony asks, feeling his head, and not at all surprised to find blood.

"Cave," Clint supplies, "most likely." He moves close to Tony, and the genius can see the dirt coating the younger man's face.

"I know that, smartass," Tony huffs, as he wipes at his forehead.

"Here, don't do that," Clint says. He moves closer and removes his outer shirt to press it to Tony's head wound.

"Do you remember how we got here?" Stark asks, flinching at a sharp twinge from the pressure.

"Your airplane, remember?" Clint asks, smiling.

"Can you answer a question seriously?" Tension eats the base of his skull and he knows the headache coming on will probably hurt like a bitch.

"Relax, Stark. Nothing good happens if you lose your focus, okay? So just breathe," Clint says. "And yes I can but no I don't know okay? Last thing I remember is getting in the back of that stupid limo they were driving us around in."

"Yeah, the conference, I was going to present, right?"

"We were on our way. I'm guessing some kind of sedation gas. I didn't even smell anything in the car air system so it must have been high-quality."

Tony looked up at him, incredulously. "Really?"

"What? The lower quality stuff smells bad."

"Ninja," Tony mutters, though a bit fondly.

"Be grateful you're here with me. Natasha would just leave your ass behind," Clint says, leaning up on his knees to check the wound again.

"No, she wouldn't, she likes me," Tony protests and relaxes when Clint chuckles.

"Good to know. Here keep pressure on this while I have a look around," Clint brings up one of Tony's hands to the shirt and presses it hard to his forehead. He doesn't make a sound at the sting of pain but Clint hisses.

"Shit, sorry. I know it hurts, but it'll heal, promise. I've seen a lot worst head wounds," he pauses, "I've had some worst ones too."

"That's not a comfort," Tony replies.

"Yeah, I didn't think that through," Clint shrugs and stand moving carefully around.

"Are we going to be able to escape?" Tony asks.

"Probably. We're not tied up, which lends to our favor. It doesn't look like they're planning on keeping us long term, which means whatever they want will be quick. A day or two tops. More than likely they just wanted you out of the way. What was your speech about again?"

"The arc reactor technology in the Tower," Tony simplifies. "It's about expanding the project to other places."

"Yeah, that'd do it. My bet is someone else is capable of giving the speech?" Clint asks, somewhere in a darker corner.

"Yeah, Rhodey or Pepper. You don't think-"

"Nat's with them, Stark. I'm sure once we don't show up she'll get them somewhere safe then call in the back up. Should lock onto your GPS locator and storm in with SHIELD agents in maybe twenty minutes." There was a distinct click and thud like a door lock being disengaged.

"Wanna meet her at the door?" Clint asks, and even thought Tony can barely make him out in the low light, he can still tell there's a smirk on his face.

"Why do I have a feeling that this is some kind of sick contest between the two of you lunatics?" Tony asks.

"I stand four to five, but this could give us a tie. Come on, help me get even with her," Clint whines, and Tony can't help but chuckle at him.

"Fine, help me up. When we get back to the Tower, I'm declaring myself Switzerland," he says.

"Aw, are you scared of the tiny Russian assassin?" Clint asks.

"Yes," Tony states.

"Good, because she'll kill us both if we aren't careful," Clint says, and helps Tony to his feet. They slowly make their way out into the hall. It looks like a dug out cavern, with wooden support beams every few feet.

"This doesn't look like it's near the city," Tony says, looking around.

"Could be a dug out basement, it feels like we're heading up toward something."

"Where is everybody?" the genius asks.

"I really don't know," Clint says, and tosses a worried glance over his shoulder.

They walk for close to fifteen minutes before they find another door. It's also unguarded, which makes Clint's stomach tighten.

"Okay, when we get through the door I want you to get down under something in case they get a couple shots off, okay?"

"Got it. Fine. Just don't get yourself killed, okay?" Tony huffs, all ready knowing this was going to be featured in his nightmares for weeks to come.

"You got it." Clint pulls on the latch lock, happy and slightly worried to find it unlocked. He shoves hard with his foot and the metal door swings open.

The first thing they both notice is the dark night sky stretched out before them, tiny stars visible around a large crescent moon.

The next thing they notice is the wide open desert that expands on toward the horizon, not a human-made light trace anywhere.

They both stand there, slightly stunned, until Tony turns and looks at Clint.

"Somehow I think Natasha is going to be late with our ride home," he says, as they both look back over the terrain and wonder _where the hell are we?_

~

"They've been gone for over fourteen hours, sir, what am I suppose to be telling Ms. Potts?" Coulson demands into the phone.

Natasha watches him from the couch across from him, fingers nimbly twirling a blade in a manner that might suggest to someone else that she was bored. For her handler, it was a sign of impending anger.

"No, sir," Coulson says, rubbing the space between his eyes with his index finger.

"Yes, sir. I'll speak to you soon," Coulson says, before hanging up the phone.

"What's the other option?" Natasha asks, eyes focused on her handler.

"Right now, we don't have many options. They've been gone for too long, all chances of finding them have dropped and we're still sitting on two civilians who need to be returned to the States." Coulson gestures to the door that leads to Pepper's bedroom. The door further back in the suite held Happy. Thankfully Colonel Rhodes had all ready gone back to D.C. to work any angle he could.

"When are the other agents coming in?" she asks, the twirling the blade faster.

"Fury won't grant us any extra agents until Potts and Happy are in the jet going home," he says, unhappily.

Natasha swears under her breath and slides the knife abruptly into a sheath in her boot.

"I don't like it either, but he's trying to keep us on priority. We'll get them on the plane in the morning and back-up will arrive tomorrow afternoon. You know he all ready has men moving."

Standing, she lets out a low hiss. "He's going to get them killed. Tomorrow afternoon?" she sneers. "By then who knows where they could have been moved to. For all we know they're all ready back in the U.S!" she lets out a frustrated sigh.

"It's going to be okay, Natasha. It'll take a lot more than some thugs kidnapping them to slow down Barton and Stark," Coulson reminds her. "They'll probably give them back once they realize what they've gotten themselves into."

She smiles and shakes her head. "You'd better be right, Coulson, and Fury better have those men here before the twenty-four hour mark or, civilians or no civilians, I will be hunting the men who took my partner down."

"I know. They'll be here. We will find them."

The 'even if they are dead' isn't said out loud, but Pepper Potts hears it anyway as she gets up from behind her door and crawls back into bed.

Sleep, she isn't surprised to find, is the last thing on her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

If Pepper thought that she was going to be up from her bed in the morning before Natasha, she found herself clearly mistaken when she stepped out of her room with her luggage at five a.m.

The red-head looked tired, almost resigned to waiting before she can go after her...what was it she had called Agent Barton? Oh yes, her partner. It sounded provisional, like the title given to anyone who worked closely with another person, but Pepper didn't think it really was. She had slowly gotten to know all of the Avengers over the six months since the Battle of New York.

Steve Rogers had been first, being such a sweet man that tried at every opportunity to make her feel included in "Avenger" activities. He had opened up a little to her, mostly using her as a sounding board for things...making sure he wasn't going to come across to anyone as being out-dated.

Next was actually Natasha. They passed a quiet moment where Pepper got the awkwardness of having a SHIELD agent once be her assistant out in the open. Said agent simply had blinked and told Pepper that it had been actually one of the nicest jobs she had ever had. After that it only seemed logical to bond together as the only women in a sea of men. Pepper ranted about Tony and Natasha followed in kind with Clint.

Bruce and Thor had come almost like a packaged deal. By the time Thor got back, Bruce was finally allowing other people into his isolated world. Surprisingly, the two men actually balanced each other in some ways. Thor kept most of the focus off the good doctor and in return, Bruce seemed to trust having the demigod hang around. Pepper wasn't sure either of them truly understood the other, but they were developing a solid friendship. At the very base was their shared appreciation of having Pepper around. Thor because he doted on everyone he meet, and Bruce simply put because she was a calming force...his words not hers.

Clint, on the other hand, had been the hardest to even get two words out of. He seemed wary of Pepper, the reason for which she could never figure out. Sometimes he would go out of his way to avoid talking to her, sending notes via Natasha or Tony or _Coulson_ in order to not have to speak to her directly. Aggravating as it all was, she would forgive all of it if he brought Tony back safely.

As if reading her mind, Natasha's first words to Pepper that morning were simple and direct, the method they both liked best.

"Clint may come across as irresponsible and carefree, Pepper, but he will die to protect Tony. Of that you should have no doubt."

Still feeling shaken from everything the past day or so had brought, Pepper frowned and asked, "How can you know?"

"One," Natasha said, smiling gently, "he signed up for this baby-sitting trip of his own free will, even though this should have been easier than a cake-walk." She paused and shook her head.

"And two, I'm pretty sure Clint is a bit in love with Tony and that's a better guarantee he'll get out safe than any other promise I could make."

"Oh," Pepper says, and blinks at her friend. _Well, _she thinks, _that actually explains a lot._

"Barton, seriously, are you sure you know where the fuck you're going?" Tony asks, for probably the tenth time since they had found the little dusty trail that lead down from the mountain containing their cave.

"It's a trail, Stark. You kinda either go one way or the other, and since the one end was the cave, the other must lead to somewhere not cave like," Clint explains, throwing a look over his shoulder. It was still dark, but Tony just knew it was a sarcastic look.

"I know, but isn't it, like, a rookie move to follow the very obviously marked trail?" Tony wasn't even going to mention them wandering around at _night_. The glow of his arc reactor seemed to be all the archer required, well that and the overhead light of the moon.

"Well, unless you have a map hidden in your well-cut designer pants, or see a major highway, this trail obviously leads somewhere. So, we might as well follow," Clint's glad it's dark so no one sees him wince when he mentions Tony's pants. He may have been a little focused on them when they had been at the hotel the previous day...and maybe all of the past month.

"But in the dark?! What if there are wild animals out here?" Okay, so he hadn't been planning mentioning the dark bit. He was Iron Man. He would not be scared of the dark.

"Oh, most certainly, but I'd be more worried about what happens when the bad guys come looking for us and find that cave empty. They'll be tracking us by dawn so we need to use the time we have," Clint sums up.

Tony stops, as the pit of his stomach drops out. "You think they're going to come back?" He wasn't panicking, he wasn't, but maybe it hit him how bad their situation was.

_Alone in the desert?...Wandering for days?...No food or water?_ Air seemed harder and harder to drag into his lungs. Distantly Tony is aware of being lowered to the ground, a body wedging itself next to him and rough voice demanding that he _breathe, damnit. _

Several moment passed while he gasped for air, unaware of what was going on for the time. Finally the panic settled and he realized that Barton was holding him, crooning some French song in his ear. Two thoughts settled quickly over Tony's mind. One, _this is probably the first time someone's held me when I've panicked like this._ This was followed up by: _Jesus H. Christ, he has a sexy fucking voice._

"I'm-I'm all right," Tony says, interrupting the song.

"I know, maybe I just wanted to cop a feel," Barton deadpanned.

It was a crude thing to say, but Tony had to laugh. _Yeah,_ he thinks, _it's been a while since that happened either._

"Ready to start again?" The archer's voice is soft now, warm against Tony's ear.

"I-"" He really didn't know, part of him distracted by realizing how close they were.

"I know how it looks, but we have better odds out here than back in that cave. We still have time to get ahead of them, okay?"

"How are we going to get word to Agent Romanoff or Coulson?" That part was still a mystery to Tony. During his capture it had been one he had never been able to solve.

"I don't know yet, okay? But we have time. Right now we need to get off this stupid mountain. We'll actually be getting somewhere once we're in this valley stretch below us."

"What about water?" He had to ask.

"Do you see a bar around here?" Barton huffed and then sighed.

"I don't know, Stark, but if we're not down off this mountain trail when the men who took us come to check on us, it won't really matter. I know last time you managed to stay alive by bluffing, but it won't work this time. Whoever took us didn't care if we survived in that cave." Barton took a breath and continued. "Look, Pepper or Rhodey probably gave your speech. By then those men know people have started looking for us. They don' have operations here. We saw that when we didn't find a guard. They must have drugged us and used contacts to find somewhere to stash us."

"Why would they come back?" Tony asks.

"Because they didn't get what they wanted...your speech was probably still given. That failed, but they still have you. They can use you to leverage money or force you to give them Stark Industries information or whatever they want. In the end it will come with the cost of either my life or both of our pain and suffering-and I'm not in the mood to be tortured today, okay?"

Smiling, the genius nodded, then cleared his throat best he could before wincing as he muttered, "Sorry bout all that."

"No problem, just stay with me okay? I don't want to have to drag your ass through the desert, but I will if I have to. I'm not facing down Coulson's wrath over this cluster-fuck alone, okay?" The archer's eyes are earnest, and a tiny bit beautiful if Tony admitted those kinds of things to himself.

"Got it," he said, chuckling a bit. "I'm ready."

"Good, because you're buying the first round at the hotel bar when we get back." Clint grins as he helps Tony to his feet. Tony has to wonder if Barton's hand has always felt this good or if he was just suffering some sort of desert hallucination.

Not having a retort, Tony followed after the mad archer, who was starting to ponder out loud if the hotel bar would serve hot wings-or better yet, nachos.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun started to light up the sky as they made their way out of the small canyon where the trail had lead them. Emerging felt a bit victorious but it was dampened by the sight of miles and miles of desert terrain, though thankfully not sand dunes.

"Which direction?" Tony asks. His throat is all ready parched and starting to itch for water, but he won't complain, he swears it to himself.

"By my estimations we have a twelve day hike to the city of Arar across this desert due east. But without provisions we'll never make it." Clint's biting his bottom lip as he looks around. The dirt covering his blue sleeveless shirt seems to have doubled since they left the cave. Tony didn't think Clint's cargo pants or his own tailored slacks would ever be the same again.

"Okay, but there is a second option, right?" Tony really didn't like the way Clint's dusty face scrunched up when he frowned.

"Yes, the other option is to head south," Clint turned right and pointed further away to a large mountain that had been hidden by night and the canyon walls.

"Okay, that's another mountain. People live there?" Tony asks, squinting to look at it.

"There's a small town on the other side. It should take us three days, if we move quick," Clint admitted, but then he frowned looking north and back into the canyon.

"Why wouldn't that be the best option then?" Tony asks, knowing he's not going to like the answer.

"Because the sedation gas didn't smell," Clint says, and sighs.

"I-_how is that an answer_?" Tony demands. If the heat had cooked the archer's brain they were so very screwed.

"Because that gas was high-end! No one who had the money to buy that kind of merchandise will be dumb enough to believe we marched out into the desert to our deaths. They will know we are heading over that mountain, because that's our only option! They'll be hunting every second we're on that mountain, and they will have the advantage," Clint looks angry now, and Tony can sympathize.

"How high-end was that sedation gas?" Tony asks, curious.

"Honestly? Stupid high. You could afford it, but most could not. I've encountered a lot of knock-out gas, and almost all have a slight smell if you've been trained to know to smell for it. Two don't have any detectable scents, but one leaves a flowery aftertaste, and unless you're tasting roses and not telling me, it's the second option," Clint crouches down on his haunches as he looks around again.

"Okay, so more than likely whoever is coming after us has the resources to keep at us until we're dead or recaptured," Stark summarizes. He sends a familiar shiver of terror down his back.

"And then some," the archer stands again. There is a line creased along his forehead, and Tony has a moment where he just _wants_ to kiss it away. Really this whole captured thing would go so much better if it wasn't happening during his crush of the decade. Of course the universe decides to throw them together when he was struggling to put his feelings into some semblance of sense.

"Is there a third option?" Tony asks. He pushes all other thoughts aside, and hopes his inappropriate nature doesn't make him do anything stupid before they are rescued.

Clint shakes his head, and looks back up toward the tiny hole in the mountain wall where they had come down from. He looks back to the other mountain in the distance. There was no better option. If they didn't die from a lack of water, it might be possible for him to get them up and over. Clint hates to think about the other possibilities, the ones where whoever had taken them actually catches up to them. It wouldn't be pretty, but if he can see them coming, he might be able to give Tony enough of a head start as a distraction. Glancing at the dark-haired man, Barton knew that he would try to protest, but Tony's continued safety was the only priority, whether the other man knew it or not.

"We have to move," Clint says finally, spurring action from himself as much as getting Tony to move forward too.

Just as they take their first steps, an explosion rings out from above and behind them. They glance up towards the cave where they had been held in time to see smoke coming out across the sky.

Neither of them say anything as they immediately break into run toward the distant mountain.

* * *

><p>The car pulling into the airport should have brought some relief for the tension building in Natasha's calves and around her temples. She wants to rub her temples to try to ease the ache, but can't with so many people looking for her to keep it together. Everything about the situation makes her want to scream and beat on people until she gets Clint back. Her whole life had been people trying to hurt her, but Clint had been the first to want to protect her. She had let him and to the current minute, even through the Battle at Midtown and aliens, magic, and insanity, she had never regretted the decision. Now there was a familiar ache that the he could be taken, hurt or worst had crept into her bones and settled in for the length of the mission.<p>

"Wheels up in five minutes," Coulson says, addressing Pepper and Happy. All Natasha can do is wait. She rolls her shoulder and lets her fingers slide over concealed knives. A dark part of her is growling and pacing at the chance to let loose, to find her best friend, her partner, her balancing stone…there were not strong enough words for Clint. It was why people often mistook them for a couple. Even though Clint was gay and she couldn't see him in a sexual manner, they had tried once. It had been awkward and neither of them had gotten their clothes off before it was clear that they were never going to be like that. It was better that way, Natasha needed him many ways, to need him for sex too would have strained their relationship, especially since they were constantly being separated for missions and the like.

A beep snaps her from her thoughts, and Natasha watches Pepper pull out her phone. It isn't unusual for the CEO of Stark Industries constantly harangued by work, so Natasha goes back to watching the car drive toward the private air field.

Once the car stills, there is a new flurry of activity. Agents of SHIELD are helping load the plane, making sure nothing unwanted is smuggled on board. Coulson goes to speak to another Handler about how Pepper and Happy should be transferred. Happy, unused to being transported as something other than the help, tries to help out the others, only to get in the way. He eventually stands at the bottom of the steps, waiting for Pepper to board the plane.

For a moment, Natasha is too busy checking out the ground personnel to notice that Pepper has exited the car, but hasn't gotten farther than the door. She's standing there, still absorbed in her phone when Natasha glances over. She narrows her eyes as she sees a tear slip down the blonde's cheek from behind a pair of expensive sunglasses.

"Miss Potts?" Coulson asks, taking a step towards her. Nat hesitates, until a sob escapes the woman before her hand comes up to clasp over her mouth. Phil catches her before she drops to her knees, he gently holds her as Pepper starts to cry. Snatching up the phone from the loosened grip, Natasha sees a replay button for a video on the screen. She taps it without thought, even as Happy moves behind her to watch over her shoulder.

At first the video is too dark to see anything. It's clear the camera is moving, but mostly it is shadows and what Nat thinks is dirt. The assumption proves right when suddenly the light comes on and she can clearly see a cavern. Her eyes moves frantically, taking in the proportions of the area before the camera shifts to the door as two men entered, dragging a third.

There was no mistaking that blonde hair or chiseled jaw. Her stomach churns as there is shouting in a language she doesn't speak. Two more men comes in dragging a dark-haired man, they drop him in the dirt, but not before they pull back his head to show clearly that it is Tony Stark.

More men shout, they all wear wraps around their heads and faces, only eyes can be seen as they bicker. There seems to be a disagreement about what should happen next. Natasha watches the camera move through the door again, and she sees it shut and locked. It moves through a tunnel before it cuts off. The video picks up a second later, still in the tunnel. The screen follows a wrapped cord on the ground, she can't place it for a moment, and then it clicks. It is a detonation cord bundle.

The screen goes white for a second as the camera adjusts to being out in sunlight. The men go down a little trail, where the cord ends a switch. The screen swivels back to the opening and Natasha barely has a moment to suck in a breath before there is an explosion shooting out dust and rocks out onto the trail. They wait until most of the debris has settled, before they move back up to the opening…or what remains of the opening. Large rocks block what was the opening, making it impossible to see where there had even been an opening.

Everything goes black and white text appears. "You could have saved him."

Finally the video ends and a replay button comes up.

Behind her Happy sniffs, and she bets her paycheck that he too is now crying. The dark part of Natasha grows silent, steady, and calm. A quiet fury settles into her skin, and the tension she carried is gone. She promises herself vengeance and the dark side of her thrums in agreement.


End file.
